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Articles written by Maria Cheng


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  • European food contamination kills 16, sickens 1,150

    DAVID RISING, MARIA CHENG,Associated Press

    BERLIN — A massive and unprecedented outbreak of bacterial infections linked to contaminated vegetables claimed two more lives in Europe on Tuesday, driving the death toll to 16. The number of sick rose to more than 1,150 people in at least eight nations. Nearly 400 people in Germany were battling a severe and potentially fatal version of the infection that attacks the kidneys and kills up to 5 percent of patients. A U.S. expert said doctors had never seen so many cases of the condition, hemolytic uremic syndrome, tied to a f...

  • Study: Chocolate may reduce heart risk

    MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer LONDON

    The Easter Bunny might lower your chances of having a heart problem. According to a new study, small doses of chocolate every day could decrease your risk of having a heart attack or stroke by nearly 40 percent. German researchers followed nearly 20,000 people over eight years, sending them several questionnaires about their diet and exercise habits. They found people who had an average of six grams of chocolate per day — or about one square of a chocolate bar — had a 39 percent lower risk of either a heart attack or str... Full story

  • Up to a third of breast cancers could be avoided

    MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer BARCELONA, Spain

    Up to a third of breast cancer cases in Western countries could be avoided if women ate less and exercised more, researchers at a conference said, renewing a sensitive debate about how lifestyle factors affect the disease. Better treatments, early diagnosis and mammogram screenings have dramatically slowed breast cancer, but experts said the focus should now shift to changing behaviors like diet and physical activity. "What can be achieved with screening has been achieved. We can't do much more," Carlo La Vecchia, head of...